CURRENT OUTLOOK
- 2023 Overall Record: 5-2
- 2023 Conference Record: 3-1
- Rank: Unranked / 2nd place in SEC East
GRADING THE GATORS
Overall: C
The Gators have been too inconsistent on the field for me to grade them any higher or lower than a C. We saw an offense that was woefully underprepared in week one against Utah, but the defense surprised some folks. In week seven, it was the offense that seemed to have turned the corner while the defense looked like it was stuck in 2022. Florida has been able to pull off five wins to this point, which is exactly where I had them seven games into the season. Florida has not exceeded my expectations, but they haven’t done anything to lower them, hence the C grade.
Offense: C
Florida ranks 66th in the FBS in scoring offense, averaging 29.1 points per game. Florida ranks 48th in total offense, averaging 421.7 yards per game. These numbers are slightly skewed due to the recent outburst from Napier’s offense. In the last two games, Florida has scored 38+ points and totaled over 495 yards of offense in both contests against SEC opponents. South Carolina and Vanderbilt are the two worst defenses in the SEC, so if the Gators want to improve their grade by the end of the season, they will need to prove they can compete against Florida’s difficult remaining schedule. Florida certainly has the talent to improve on this grade, I just need to see more consistency from the offense.
Passing: B-
Florida’s passing offense has been a pleasant surprise through seven games of the 2023 season. The Gators rank 33rd in the FBS in passing yards per game, averaging 280.4 yards per game through the air. Transfer QB Graham Mertz has exceeded expectations to this point, completing 76.2 percent of his passes for 1,897 yards, 12 touchdowns, and just two interceptions. Senior receiver Ricky Pearsall is having the best season of his career while a pair of freshmen in Eugene Wilson and Arlis Boardingham have helped boost the Gators’ passing offense in 2023. Florida’s passing offense has put on quite the display over the last two games, launching them into a B- grade. If Mertz can improve on his deep ball accuracy over the next five games, this grade could improve.
Running: C-
Florida just isn’t the same ground and pound team they were a year ago, ranking 81st in the FBS in rushing yards per game at 143.3. The Gators have struggled to run the ball against Utah, Charlotte, Kentucky, and South Carolina, but found success against Tennessee, McNeese State, and Vanderbilt. It’s important to note that Mertz has been sacked 19 times in 2023, which ranks 100th in sacks allowed. Sacks count against rushing yards in college football, which is why I have Florida’s rushing attack at a C- and not a D+. RB Montrell Johnson admitted that he did not feel like himself earlier in the season as he felt like he was trying to hit the home run on every play instead of doing his job. This is a grade I could see improving over the next five games.
Pass Block: C-
Florida has allowed 19 sacks in 2023, which ranks 100th in the FBS in sacks allowed. QB Graham Mertz has the tendency to hold on to the ball too long, doesn’t have elite pocket presence, and isn’t necessarily quick on his feet. All of these factor into the high sack number along with Florida’s 57th ranked pass block grade, according to Pro Football Focus.
Run Block: C
The Gators rank 44th in the FBS in run blocking, according to PFF. Neither run or pass block has been particularly great, but I’ll give the slight edge to run blocking based on the analytics.
Defense: B-
Florida’s defense is probably the trickiest area to grade to this point in the season. Florida ranks 20th in total defense, which is a major improvement from a season ago. Florida’s defense came to play in the majority of their contests but got gashed by Kentucky and South Carolina. Florida ranks 31st in the FBS in scoring defense, allowing just 20 points per game. The Gators also have one of the best third down defenses in the country, ranking 12th in the FBS and allowing just .295% of third downs. The Gators have struggled to create takeaways in 2023, ranking 122nd in the FBS in turnovers gained. This is a grade that could drop down if the Gators continue on the path they have been on in recent weeks.
Tackling: B-
While the Gators started off very strong with just nine missed tackles in their first two games, Florida has combined for 63 missed tackles in 2023, an average of nine a game. While this is a slight improvement over Florida’s 2022 defense, who averaged 10.6 missed tackles a game in the regular season, there’s cause for concern as Florida is set for a challenging final five games. The reason for my high grade; Florida ranks third in the SEC in missed tackles per game, trailing only Georgia and Alabama.
The Gators missed a season high 17 tackles against Kentucky and have missed 10 or more tackles in three of their last five games. This is a grade that could end up dropping if Florida can’t turn around their recent struggles.
Run Defense: C+
Florida ranks 42 in the FBS in rushing yards allowed and have been solid in this department for the majority of the year, holding five of their seven opponents to under 4.0 yards per carry. Kentucky raised some serious concerns about this team’s ability to stop the run, but Florida had a nice bounce back game against Vanderbilt, holding the Commodores to just 3.4 yards per carry on 19 attempts. South Carolina ran for 152 yards rushing on 4.6 yards per carry in week 7 against the Gators. Florida ranks 34th in the FBS in run defense, according to PFF. DL Cam Jackson leads the pack in this department, ranking 4th in the Nation with 17 run stops (gain of three yards or less) and 2nd in the country with a run stop percentage of 18.5%. Florida’s linebackers need to do a better job of filling their gaps and helping out Florida’s defensive line.
Coverage: B+
Florida ranks 24th in the FBS in passing yards allowed and had been dominate in coverage until week seven, where the Gators allowed 313 passing yards and four TDs to Spencer Rattler and the Gamecocks’ offense. SC receiver Xaiver Legette caused Florida all kinds of problems as the bid-bodied receiver was able to haul in five receptions for 110 yards in the contest.
Pressure: C+
Edge rusher Princely Umanmielen is really the only Gator that is constantly generating pressure on Florida’s defensive line. Umanmielen ranks among the best in the country at pressuring opposing quarterbacks, totaling 21 QB hurries, 8 QB hits, and three sacks, according to PFF. Umanmielen’s win rate of 29.7%, the highest amongst P5 pass rushers with 50+ pass rush snaps.
The issue is that Florida’s 2nd best pass rusher to this point, in terms of win rate and total pressures, is defensive tackle Caleb Banks, who holds a 12% win rate and 16 total pressures compared to Umanmielen’s 32.
Starting across from Umanmielen is EDGE Tyreak Sapp, who holds a 7% win rate and nine pressures on 85 pressure snaps.
Florida’s linebackers have not been effective at pressuring the QB through seven games.
The Gators will need to find someone other than Princely Umanmielen to harass the QB if they want to see this grade rise.
Florida ranks 26th in the FBS in pressure, according to PFF.
Special Teams: D
Florida has found their kicker in Trey Smack, who has been nothing short of phenomenal in 2023. The sophomore has connected on 11-12 field goals attempts (91.7%) including a long of 54 yards. Smack’s only miss came on a blocked field goal against South Carolina, where he was 4-5 in the contest.
Punter Jeremy Crawshaw has also been solid, outside of a few shanked punts. Crawshaw is averaging 47.7 yards per punt and has landed six of his 20 punts inside the 20-yard line.
The real problem with the special teams is the coordination of the unit, or lack thereof. Florida has put out 10 men on the field for field goal block and punt return a number of times this season, which is simply inexcusable. Florida has also been caught with too many men on the field during a punt return, giving the opposing team a first down. Special teams penalties were a problem at the beginning of the season but have seemingly improved in recent weeks.
The Gators have yet to find a consistent spark in either return team, despite improving the personnel at the position in the offseason.
Coverage units have been a plus this season.
It’s time for Billy Napier to take a long hard look at his special teams process, as we are 20 games into the Napier era and we have yet to see a stretch of consistent special teams play. There’s nothing wrong with the players on the field, but if the coordination is not leading them to success, something has to change.
Florida ranks 72nd in the FBS in special teams, according to Pro Football Focus.
Development: A
The Gators are the youngest team in the SEC and have launched several freshmen into significant roles this season, many of which are playing very well. Here are a few examples of positive development.
- Florida is now starting two true freshmen safeties, including Jordan Castell, who ranks as the Gators’ third best tackler, according to PFF.
- Kelby Collins and TJ Searcy have established significant roles as reserve edge rushers. Collins ranks 7th on the Gators’ defense and Searcy ranks 6th, according to PFF.
- Eugene Wilson is a star in the making and is a starting receiver as a freshman. PFF ranks Wilson as the best offensive player on the team.
- Ricky Pearsall has taken huge strides, even after a successful 2022 season.
- TE Arlis Boardingham has taken a huge jump in his redshirt freshmen season after being sidelined with an injury for all of the 2022 regular season.
- Princely Umanmielen is having his best season as a Gator after switching positions.